“The usual. Just kicked the last group off the boat in Charlotte Amalie, which is why I was able to call earlier than usual. You want to Skype?”
“Of course,” Lauren said. She sat up and reached for her laptop that was sitting on the coffee table in front of her. She closed out her iTunes and smiled when a familiar rectangular box popped up on her screen. “There you are,” she murmured when Grey’s face came up on the screen. Grey was sitting at one of the tables on the back deck, and Lauren’s stomach lurched at the sight. God, she missed that.
“Here I am,” Grey said with a soft smile.
Lauren licked her lips and nodded, taking a moment to just look at Grey. Even though Grey was smiling, her eyes were sad, and Lauren understood without having to ask why that was. Technology was great and it made being apart at least somewhat bearable, but looking at Grey’s image on her computer screen also drove home the fact that they were thousands of miles apart. Her fingers itched to touch, to comb through Grey’s hair, to wrap around the curve of her jaw and hold her close as she kissed her slowly, thoroughly, making her whimper, and Lauren cleared her throat softly as she forced herself back to the present. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Grey whispered. “How was your morning? Anything exciting happen at work last night?”
“Work was work. Jen and I went out for drinks afterwards, so that was nice, I guess.”
“Did you not have fun?” Grey asked, her expression clearly concerned.
“I did. It’s just…” Lauren rolled her eyes. “It’s just weird.”
“Why?”
Lauren shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, we went to our usual bar after work, sat at our usual table, and had our usual drinks just like we usually do. She talked about her husband and I talked about you—she liked that whale joke of yours, by theway—and it just…it just made me miss you more. You would think that I would’ve gotten used to this by now, but I would rather be spending the time talking with you.”
“Oh, Lauren.” Grey lifted her hand like she was going to reach for Lauren, only to end up running it through her hair instead. “I miss you too. But, hey, there are only nine days until I’ll be up there to see you.”
Lauren smiled at the thought. “I know. I can’t wait.”
“Me neither,” Grey whispered, her eyes dancing over Lauren’s face They talked for another half an hour about everything and nothing at all, comfortable silence filling the void between topics as they just looked at each other, their expressions conveying everything they were thinking.
Lauren let out a soft, regret-filled sighed when her phone on the table began to beep. “I’m sorry. That’s my work alarm. I’m going to have to get going.”
“It’s fine. Usual time tomorrow?”
“Of course.” Lauren smiled. “It’s the best part of my day.”
“Mine too,” Grey whispered. “Have a good night at work.”
“I’ll try. What do you have going on tonight? Anything?”
“Nothing special.” Grey shook her head. “Am just going to go over to Kip’s for dinner and hang out for a bit. Head out again tomorrow morning, but will be in Leinster in plenty of time to call. ”
Lauren nodded. “Have fun. Tell Kelly I say hello.”
“Will do.” Grey pressed two fingers to her lips and then touched them to the screen, and smiled when Lauren did the same. “Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” Lauren promised, hating the way her stomach sank at the knowledge that she would not see Grey again until the following afternoon.
“Goodbye, beautiful,” Grey whispered.
Lauren smiled sadly and nodded. “Bye.” She blew out a loud breath as she closed up her laptop to keep Jenks from making a bed of the keyboard, and set it down on the table. She propped her elbows on her knees and let her head drop into her hands as she tried to refocus herself on the things she needed to do. Work was a nice distraction from how much she missed Grey, and she had grown to crave the chaos of the kitchen. She sucked in a deep breath as she let her hands fall, and looked at Jenks, who was watching her carefully. “Right, buddy. Time to get ready for work.”
She pocketed her phone as she made her way down the hall to her bedroom, and she smiled at the sound of Jenks trailing behind her. She dressed quickly, knowing that things were going to be hectic that night because Laine was planning on trying a new recipe. The special the week before had been one of hers, and it had been so well-received that she knew he was going to be hovering over everybody’s shoulders, barking orders and making sure that everything was perfect, trying to solidify his position as her better.
She finished dressing quickly, and threw a few treats into Jenks’ bowl as she passed through the kitchen to the front door. She had just pulled on her coat when her phone began ringing with the default tone assigned to the majority of her contacts, and she answered it distractedly as she stepped into her shoes. “Hello?”
“Chef Murphy?”
Lauren frowned. She did not recognize the voice on the other end. She pulled the phone away from her ear to glance at the number, and her frown deepened as she failed to recognize it as well. “Yes.”
“My name is Jason Whitmore. I’m the owner and general manager of Café Belle.”
Café Belle was a French/American fusion restaurant on the Upper West Side that was on the verge of breaking into the elite upper echelon of restaurants in the city. The rumor mill had been churning for the last year with speculation of Marcus Adrian leaving his position as executive chef at the café to strike out on his own, and Lauren’s pulse jumped as she realized those rumors might actually be true.
